NEXT MEETING: July 31, 2015

Why Are There Stars?

Steven Stahler is an astrophysicist at the University of California, Berkeley. Raised in Maryland, he attended graduate school at Berkeley in physics. He was a professor at MIT before returning to the Bay Area in 1992. His research centers on the problem of star formation, which he has attacked from many different perspectives. He is the author, along with Francesco Palla, of The Formation of Stars (Wiley, 2004), the first comprehensive text in this field. Steve especially enjoys the esthetic aspect of his research, which he tries to convey in his public talks and articles. Not coincidentally, he is also an accomplished artist. For more information, and a sampling of recent sketches, visit his web page at the University.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

•    Pam Jones announced that “Rotary Day at the Races” (Golden Gate Fields) will be on November 21 and tickets are available for $40. Only way to reserve your spot is to pay for it. This event usually sells out so get your money in ASAP.
•    David Brown announced that our Club has submitted and received a District Grant for almost $10,000 for our “Transform a Block” project in Parchester Village. In conjunction with the City of Richmond, we will be installing motion detectors, CO detectors, smoke alarms, and trees as well as providing dumpsters to haul away debris. Stay tuned for more details.

MEETING OF July 24, 2015

Welcome

Prez Alan Blavins called the meeting to order at Jennifer and Todd’s and asked Mayor Tom Butt to lead us in the Pledge. Prez Alan asked for a silent prayer and Sgt-at-Arms Sid Chauvin offered this thought, “Most employment forms ask who to call in case of emergency…I think you should answer “a good doctor!”

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

Alan Baer had with him his children Stephanie and James. Karen Basting, from BART, was also present as a guest of our Speaker.

Special Events

Patricia “Patty” Canessa, sponsored by Your Scribe, was formally inducted into the Richmond Rotary Club. Patty is the Public Affairs Director for Chevron Richmond Refinery. Welcome Patty!

Recognitions and Happy and Sad Dollars

• Oscar Garcia celebrated his birthday with a trip to the Bahamas.
• Tom Waller, a mere youngster at age 70, gave us many details about his birthday celebrations which will continue into this weekend.
• Alan Baer was happy to celebrate his 24^th Anniversary with Santa and had to explain why he was in the company of a divorce attorney on that day…Rotary business.
• David Brown’s ongoing saga of purchasing his airplane is still in the negotiations stages.
• Jim Young was sad that there weren’t more Rotarians at Menebere’s “Grape” fundraiser (Pam Jones and Your Scribe did attend…maybe others?) and told us about his new neighbor (ask him).
• Tom Waller…who obviously had more to say bought more time to expound on growing older and its advantages…and some disadvantages

PROGRAM

Stacey Street introduced our speaker Zakhary Mallett, BART Director for District 7. Zakhary was elected in 2012 at the youthful age of 25. He has a BA in Urban Studies from Stanford then came across the Bay and received an Masters in City Planning from Cal. District 7 includes Richmond and also many other cities including Albany and parts of Oakland and San Francisco.

Zakhary gave some history about BART which opened in the early 70’s with about 40,000 riders compared to the 450,000 riders today. One of the major issues BART is facing, not unlike other public agencies, is the $5 billion it has in unfunded capital project needs. BART’s trains are some of the oldest cars being used in the nation. Zakhary is hoping that BART will be able to successfully pass a Bond measure in 2016. He did indicate that BART fares do cover 70-75% of operational costs which is very good.

- The Menehune “Rotating Editor”